NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Harvard Water Vapor (HWV) instrument combines two independent measurement methods for the simultaneous in situ detection of ambient water vapor mixing ratios in a single duct. This dual axis instrument combines the heritage of the Harvard Lyman-α photo-fragment fluorescence instrument (LyA) with the newly designed tunable diode laser direct absorption instrument (HHH). The Lyman-α detection axis functions as a benchmark measurement, and provides a requisite link to the long measurement history of Harvard Lyman-α aboard NASA’s WB-57 and ER-2 aircraft [Weinstock et al., 1994; Hintsa et al., 1999; Weinstock et al., 2009]. The inclusion of HHH provides a second high precision measurement that is more robust than LyA to changes in its measurement sensitivity [Smith et al., in preparation]. The simultaneous utilization of radically different measurement techniques facilitates the identification, diagnosis, and constraint of systematic errors both in the laboratory and in flight. As such, it constitutes a significant step toward resolving the controversy surrounding water vapor measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

The high-sensitivity fast response CO2 instrument measures CO2 concentrations in situ using the light source, gas cells, and solid-state detector from a modified nondispersive infrared CO2 analyzer (Li-Cor, Inc., Lincoln, NE). These components are stabilized along the detection axis, vibrationally isolated, and housed in a temperature-controlled pressure vessel. Sample air enters a rear-facing inlet, is preconditioned using a Nafion drier (to remove water vapor), then is compressed by a Teflon diaphragm pump. A second water trap, using dry ice, reduces the sample air dewpoint to less than 70C prior to detection. The CO2 mixing ratio of air flowing through the sample gas cell is determined by measuring absorption at 4.26 microns relative to a reference gas of known concentration. In-flight calibrations are performed by replacing the air sample with reference gas every 10 minutes, with a low-span and a high-span gas every 20 minutes, and with a long-term primary standard every 2 hours. The long-term standard is used sparingly and serves as a check of the flight-to-flight accuracy and precision of the measurements, augmented by ground-based calibrations before and after flights.

The HyMap scanner, built by Integrated Spectronics Inc of Sydney, Australia, has four spectrometers in the interval 0.45 to 2.45 micrometers excluding the two major atmospheric water absorption windows. The bandwidths are not constant, but vary between 15 and 18 nanometers. The scanner also has an on-board bright source calibration system, which is used to monitor the stability of the signal. The signal/noise ratio measured outside the aircraft with a sun angle of 30° and a 50% reflectance standard is more than 500/1 except near the major atmospheric water absorption bands. The scanner is mounted on a hydraulically actuated Zeiss-Jena SM 2000 stabilized platform. The platform provides +/- 5 degrees of pitch and roll correction. The yaw can be offset by +/- 20 degrees with +/- 8 degrees of stabilization. The platform provides a residual error in nadir pointing of less than 1 degree and reduces aircraft motion effects by a factor ranging from 10:1 to 30:1.

The basic HyMap specifications are:

IFOV: 2.5 mr along track, 2.0 mr across track (Spatial resolution 3.5–10 m)
FOV: 62 degrees (512 pixels)

OH is detected by direct laser induced fluorescence in the (0-1) band of the 2?-2? electronic transition. A pulsed dye-laser system produces frequency tunable laser light at 282 nm. An on-board frequency reference cell is used by a computer to lock the laser to the appropriate wavelength. Measurement of the signal is then made by tuning the laser on and off resonance with the OH transition.

Stratospheric air is channeled into the instrument using a double-ducted system that both maintains laminar flow through the detection region and slows the flow from free stream velocity (200 m/s) to 40 m/s. The laser light is beam-split and directed to two detection axes where it passes through the stratospheric air in multipass White cells.

Fluorescence from OH (centered at 309 nm) is detected orthogonal to both the flow and the laser propagation using a filtered PMT assembly. Optical stability is checked periodically by exchanging the 309 nm interference filter with a filter centered at 302 nm, where Raman scattering of N2 is observed.

HO2 is measured as OH after chemical titration with nitric oxide: HO2 + NO → OH + NO2. Variation of added NO density and flow velocity as well as the use of two detection axes aid in diagnosis of the kinetics of this titration. Measurements of ozone (by uv absorption) and water vapor (by photofragment fluorescence) are made as diagnostics of potential photochemical interference from the mechanism: O3 + hv (282 nm) → O(1D) + O2, followed by: O(1D) + H2O → OH + OH

1) Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS)

Total and single particle characterization of volatile aerosol ionic and organic components (50-700nm). Uncertainty depends on species and concentration.

2) Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2)

Single particle measure of BC (soot) mass in particles and determination of mixed particle size and non-BC coating using laser scattering and incandescence. 70-700nm. Single particle counting up to 10,000 per sec.

3) A size-resolved thermo-optic aerosol discriminator (30 s avg.):

Aerosol size distribution from 0.12 up to 7.0 μm, often where most aerosol mass, surface area and optical effects are dominant. Uses a modified Laser Optical Particle Counter (OPC) and computer controlled thermal conditioning system is used upstream (airstream dilution dried). Characterizes aerosol components volatile at 150, 300 and 400C and refractory aerosol at 400C (sea salt, dust and soot/flyash). (Clarke, 1991, Clarke et al., 2004). Uncertianty about 15%

4) Condensation Nuclei - heated and unheated (available at 1Hz)

Two butanol based condensation nuclei (CN) counter (TSI 3010) count all particles between 0.01-3.0 um. Total CN, refractory CN (those remaining at 300C after sulfate is removed) and volatile CN (by difference) are obtained as a continuous readout as a fundamental air mass indicator (Clarke et al. 1996). Uncertainty ~ 5%.

5) Aerodynamic Particle Sizer – (APS-TSI3320) – (<5min/scan)

To further characterize larger “dry” particles, including dust, an APS is operated which sizes particles aerodynamically from 0.8 to 20 μm into 50 channels. Uncertainty~10%.

6) Differential Mobility Analyzer with thermal conditioning – (<3 min/scan)

Volatility tandem thermal differential mobility analyzer (VTTDMA) with thermal analysis that provides size information (mass, surface area, number distributions) and their state of mixing over the 0.01 to 0.3μm size range (Clarke et al., 1998, 2007) for sampling times of about 1-3 minutes. Uncertainty ~10%

7) Nephelometer (10-7 m-1 detection for 60s avg., recorded every 1 sec.)

A 3 wavelength nephelometer (450, 550, 700nm) is used for total scattering and submicrometer scattering values using a Radiance Research single wavelength nephelometer (and thereby coarse dust scattering by difference).

8) Two Particle Soot Absorption Photometers (PSAP-Radiance Research; detection <0.1μg m-3 for 5 min. avg. )

The PSAP is used to quantify the spectral light absorption coefficient of the total and submicron aerosol (eg. soot, BC) at three wavelengths (450, 550, 660nm).

9) Humidity Dependent Light-Scattering (10-6 m-1 detection for 60s avg.; recorded every 1 s)

Two additional Radiance Research single-wavelength nephelometers are operated at two humidities (high/low) to establish the humidity dependence of light scattering, f(RH).

The High Altitude Monolithic Microwave integrated Circuit (MMIC) Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) is a microwave atmospheric sounder developed by JPL under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program. Operating with 25 spectral channels in 3 bands (50-60 Ghz, 118 Ghz, 183 Ghz), it provides measurements that can be used to infer the 3-D distribution of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water in the atmosphere, even in the presence of clouds. The new UAV-HAMSR with 183GHz LNA receiver reduces noise to less than a 0.1K level improving observations of small-scale water vapor. HAMSR is mounted in payload zone 3 near the nose of the Global Hawk.

HAMSR was designed and built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program and uses advanced technology to achieve excellent performance in a small package. It was first deployed in the field in the 2001 Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4) - a hurricane field campaign organized jointly by NASA and the Hurricane Research Division (HRD) of NOAA in Florida. HAMSR also participated in the Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) hurricane field campaign in Costa Rica in 2005. In both campaigns HAMSR flew as a payload on the NASA high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. It was also one of the payloads in the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities (NAMMA) field campaign in Cape Verde - this time using the NASA DC-8. HAMSR provides observations similar to those obtained with microwave sounders currently operating on NASA, NOAA and ESA spacecraft, and this offers an opportunity for valuable comparative analyses.

The NASA-Langley GPS remote sensing (GPSRS) instrument simultaneously correlates the unique satellite pseudo-random noise (PRN) code in a given satellite signal with an instrument-generated copy of the code. For each surface measurement, the reflected signal is correlated at 14 successive delay times (or delay bins) relative to the arrival of the signal from the specular point. The correlation results are squared as part of instrument signal processing and recorded for later analysis.

Two GPS-derived classification features are merged with visible image data to create terrain-moisture (TM) classes, or visibly identifiable terrain or landcover classes containing a surface/soil moisture component. As compared to using surface imagery alone, classification accuracy is significantly improved for a number of visible classes when adding the GPS-based signal features. Since the strength of the reflected GPS signal is proportional to the amount of moisture in the surface, use of these GPS features provides information about the surface that is not obtainable using visible wavelengths alone. Application areas include hydrology, precision agriculture, and wetlands mapping.

Critical to progress in understanding and modeling ice sheets are a better characterization of what ice sheets are doing at present, how fast they are changing, what are the driving processes controlling these changes, and how we can better represent these processes in numerical models to derive more realistic predictions of the evolution of glaciers and ice sheets in the future. Chief among these measurements, are detailed, enhanced and sustained measurements of ice sheet elevation, at high spatial resolution, with high vertical accuracy, over the entire ice sheets. These measurements provide critical information about long-term ice sheet dynamics (mass balance trends) and short-term variability (precipitation, ablation events, surface lowering of an accelerating glacier, etc.).

Ideally suited to making these measurements is GLISTIN, a Ka-band single pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). Proposed also as a spaceborne mission concept [1], the airborne GLISTIN-A serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration and science sensor. Key features include:

1. The Ka-band center frequency maximizes the single-pass interferometric accuracy (which is proportional to the wavelength), reduces snow penetration (when compared with lower frequencies), and remains relatively impervious to atmospheric attenuation.

2. Imaging capabilities that are important for mapping large areas. Imaging allows features to be tracked with time for estimation of ice motion and reduces data noise when measuring topographic changes over rough surfaces of glaciers and coastal regions of ice sheets.

GISMO is a concept for a spaceborne radar system designed to measure the surface and basal topography of terrestrial ice sheets and to determine the physical properties of the glacier bed. Our primary objective is to develop this new technology for obtaining spaceborne estimates of the mass of the polar ice sheets with an ultimate goal of providing essential information to modelers estimating the mass balance of the polar ice sheets and estimating the response of ice sheets to changing climate. Our technology concept employs VHF and P-band interferometric radars using a novel clutter rejection technique for measuring the surface and bottom topographies of polar ice sheets. Our approach will enable us to reduce signal contamination from surface clutter, measure the topography of the glacier bed, and paint a picture of variations in bed characteristics. The technology will also have applications for planetary exploration including studies of the Martian ice caps and the icy moons of the outer solar system. We have recently shown that it is possible to image a small portion of the base of the polar ice sheets using a SAR approach. Through the concept developed here, we believe that, for the first time, we can image the base and map the 3-dimensional basal topography beneath an ice sheet at up to 5 km depth.

GISMO is a NASA Instrument Incubator Project.